Round 7: Warranty and support

It's all fun and games, until something breaks. Both Acer and Apple have you covered for parts and labor if you encounter problems within the first year--terms that adhere to the industry standard. But Apple grows stingy with the phone support, offering a paltry 90 days to call in toll-free. Acer's phone support lasts throughout the length of the warranty, but calls are answered only Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT. Most other vendors, such as Dell and HP, offer 24/7 phone support during the entire warranty period.

Given the companies' sink-or-swim attitude toward phone support, a quality tech-support Web site is key to helping you solve problems solo. In this respect, Apple clearly tops Acer. The Apple support site is loaded with dozens of troubleshooting tips, exhaustive documentation, and firmware updates, while Acer's support site is difficult to navigate, and its online knowledge database has only eight articles relating to the TravelMate 8200.

Both companies offer warranty upgrades, but Acer offers a few more options. The Apple Care Protection Plan extends phone support and product coverage to three years for the steep price of $349. Acer offers two options for upgrades: a two-year extension for $124 and a three-year total coverage plan for $280.

Note that we opted to limit our evaluation to the terms of the support package and not the quality of support, which is highly subjective and can vary depending on the support issue.

Winner: Both laptops are backed by industry-standard one-year warranties, but Acer's support site is weak and Apple's phone support miserly. This round is a draw.